The Unexpected
by NiennaMelwasul
Summary: A series of drabbles spanning both Mass Effect 1 and 2. Based off of the first Shepard I played, female, Paragon and Vanguard. They will mostly deal with Fem!Shep/Garrus, with a hint of Kaidan references. NOTE: Story now on haitus. See my profile.
1. Air

A/N: So this will be a collection of some drabbles from the Mass Effect universe, mostly Fem!Shepard/Garrus centered. It'll jump between Mass Effect 1 and 2. If I'm still writing it by the time 3 comes out, that may end up being included as well. They will mostly be unrelated and are based off a series of prompts I found while exploring the extranet ;) Feedback is welcome and encouraged. Enjoy!

1. Air

She drifted away from the Normandy SR1's remains. As disconcerting as the silence of space was, it held an odd peace, even with the menace of the unknown ship behind her and the potentially worse menace of the planet in front of her. Peace and quiet, an almost unknown situation for –

A hissing noise filled her helmet. She gasped, feeling a breeze across her face. _No!_ she thought, twisting around, seeing the vapor from her precious O2 slip into space. She struggled, the faces of her crew flashing through her mind.

_Wrex's face as he took out enemy after enemy, at home in the heat of battle. A strange joy overcoming him as he took out geth after geth._

Had she ever told him how grateful she was that he had joined the team?

_Liara, her eyes alight with laughter as they sat together in that little office in the medical bay. They would spend hours talking and laughing together during the down time between missions. Shepard could honestly say that Liara was one of her very few close friends…_

Did the Asari know how much Shepard valued their time together? Did she know that the commander practically considered them sisters?

_Standing on the beach at Virmire with Ashley, promising that when it was all over, they would find a beach like this to just relax on. She hadn't know that "all over" for Ash would be later that day._

Well, they could take that shore leave together now.

_Tali, the orange lights of the displays flickering on her mask while she examined the Normandy's engines with a joy like a little child at Christmas._

Shepard had promised to help her finish her pilgrimage. Tali would have to finish it on her own now. It wasn't right. She wasn't a woman to leave promises unfinished.

_Kaidan, a soft smile on his handsome face as they sat and talked deep into the artificial nights. _

She had turned him down, wanting to wait until the battle was over to start a relationship with him. There had been so much potential there, the chance for so much happiness. Now they had both lost their chance for that. Going back, she wishes that she hadn't told him they should wait. She wished that she had taken his hand, embraced him on that final night before Ilos…but it was too late now.

_Garrus…_

As images of the Turian filled her mind, Sheppard's air ran out. Her final thoughts were not of the man she might have loved, but of the Turian that had her back no matter what.


	2. Apples

Hey! So no reviews from you silly people, but I definitely know you're out there reading! Feel free to de-lurk. Anyway, I try to write at least one of these per night, although don't count on me to update that frequently. I'm in a musical right now and that will start to take up a lot of time. But here's the next entry, so enjoy!

2. Apples

_Thunk!_

Something forcefully impacted against his fringe, causing him to stumble forward a pace. He spun, hand going for his pistol, ready to face whatever enemy must have somehow snuck up behind him. His gaze dropped to the ground as he backed up. It was obvious to him that he must have been hit by some sort of grenade, one with a delayed explosion…

And one that was in the shape of a red ball? Puzzled, he stared at the shiny, round object, looking up once laughter broke the silence around him. Lowering his weapon, he stared at Shepard. The woman was doubled over with laughter, barely remaining standing. Knowing she would never throw something harmful at him, he cautiously bent down to retrieve the object.

"What is this thing?" he asked, smiling at the rare sound of his commander's laughter. He would have gotten an answer had he not decided to poke the thing with a talon-tipped finger.

The Turian's talon pierced the soft flesh of the apple, and he withdrew his hand quickly. Only the apple came with him. His shocked expression caused Shepard 's laughter to renew. Who would have thought that Garrus Vakarian had never seen an apple.


	3. Beginnings

3. Beginning

Shepard slid open the door to the medical clinic in the Wards, Kaidan and Ashley flanking her. The sight greeting them caused time to slow down. While Shepard reached for her sidearm, she took in the scene before her: the doctor's panicked expression, eyes pleading for them to save her; the anger of the man in charge, hate that the Alliance had stumbled into his little shakedown; the hired hands, reaching for their weapons with doubtful faces, unsure if they wanted to take down three Alliance operatives. All of this seemed frozen before her.

All of it except for the Turian creeping, hidden by a low wall, toward the enemy and hostage. Before Shepard even had her gun out, he had burst from cover. With the well-trained military precision his race was known for, he took out the enemy leader with a single shot.

The resulting confusion did not last long. Crippled by the loss of their leader, the mercenaries were easily dispatched with her team's full-on assult supplemented by biotic blasts from Kaidan and herself, as well as some additional tech from the Turian.

Enemies eliminated, Shepard turned toward the mysterious alien only to find that he was not so mysterious. He was Garrus Vakarian, the C-sec operative that had been investigating Saren.

From the moment he joined her team, he would have her back until she left the escape pod to save Joker. This partnership that took only a moment to begin would eventually transcend death itself…

A/N: This was eventually meant to be a little longer but I couldn't find the dialogue for the medical bay if you say "Nice shot." anywhere on YouTube so…it got a little shortened. Hopefully it is still enjoyable. Feedback is appreciated!


	4. Bugs

A/N: I am afraid migraines have interrupted the writing of these one-shots, but more will be on the way if my head ever gives me a break. Please tell me of any weird mistakes that pop up, as this has been written while on different meds for the for reading! Hopefully this one will be amusing…

4. Bugs

Garrus smiled as he waited for the elevator to reach Deck 1, where Commander Shepard's quarters were. Or, as he was permitted to call her, Adriana. His eyes softened as he thought of the name. He had never known that a human name could be so melodic, so beautiful. Spirits, he hadn't known he could find a _human_ to be beautiful. And yet, her soft hair fascinated him, he got lost in her eyes, and his heart swelled when she looked at him with that expression that was now only for him.

He was returned to reality by the elevator door sliding open to reveal his commander's door. Talons rapped softly on the metal surface.

"Come in, Garrus," said her voice from within. HE frowned, as her voice sounded slightly strained, but opened the door anyway.

Shepard, dressed in her N7 sweats, was sitting on her couch with her legs curled underneath her. Most Turians would assume this was a relaxed pose, but Garrus had gotten better at reading humans. Well, better at reading her. She was not relaxed. Every muscle in her body was tense and her eyes were focused intently at a spot on the floor a few feet away from her.

"Commander?" he said questioningly. Her eyes didn't move from the spot on the floor.

"Garrus," she said, her tone a forced calm, "I need your help with something."

"Adriana, I've followed you to the ends of the galaxy and back. What do you need?" he asked, concern lacing his dual-toned voice.

"I need you," she began in that same, carefully controlled manner," to kill that _thing_."

Her hand rose, fingers pointing to the same spot on the floor she had been staring at. Cautiously, Garrus stepped forward until he could see what was causing her so much distress.

"But," He was almost at a loss for words. "Adriana, it's just a spider!"

"Yes, Garrus. It is a spider. On my floor. And I want it _dead_."

"But don't you humans think it's bad luck to kill these things?" Garrus could barely keep the humor out of his voice.

"Garrus…" Her voice was taking on a more dangerous tone now.

He bent down to examine the creature, "I don't know, Commander. I think it's kind of cute."

"If you don't kill that thing right now, Garrus, I swear…" His laughter cut off her threat.

Garrus pinched the arachnid between taloned fingers and headed toward the private bathroom, muttering, "Really, you would think the woman who saved the Rachni from extinction would be able to handle one little bug"

"I heard that!"


	5. Coffee

A/N: Rediculously short in my opinion, but I couldn't think of much else to do with the prompt "Coffee" so it is what it is…if anyone has any suggestions to improve this one, please let me know.

5. Coffee

"So humans don't just wake up? That seems so impractical," Garrus Vakarian sat in the mess hall, a somewhat dubious expression on his face.

"No," said the Commander, a mug steaming in her hands, "we just really don't like to."

"And this is your solution?" he said, giving the brown liquid in the mug a disgusted look.

"Yes. And it's quite delicious, too," Shepard emphasized this point by taking a sip. Garrus winced as she did so.

"It smells, and looks, horrible," he said, peering at her as if waiting for some adverse reaction. "Besides, isn't it addictive? Shouldn't humans avoid things like that? Shouldn't everyone?"

Shepard sighed, "It's just coffee Garrus. Good luck finding any human in the galaxy that doesn't drink it. And besides, don't you think all of my food is horrible?"

"Well," Garrus began, "if I were to make a list of your food that seemed least appealing, this may be at the top." He paused for a moment to consider. "That yellow stuff though, macaroni and cheese? That may end up winning."

Shepard laughed, "You stick to your disgusting Turian food, and I'll stick to my disgusting human food."

Garrus gave her his version of a smile, "It's a deal, Shepard."


	6. Dark

A/N: So how I said I wasn't proud of my last update? Well this one I am proud of. I hope you enjoy it as well! And review? Please?

6. Dark

_Aim, shoot, reload._ Nothing had made a difference. It was all for nothing. _Aim, shoot, reload._ He had thought that maybe, just maybe, he could still make a difference without her. _Aim, shoot, reload._ He couldn't. His team was dead and here he was facing an endless army of mercs. He didn't even know how long he had lasted holed up in here. One day? Two? _Aim, shoot, reload._ Another wave survived. Now to wait for them to regroup and come again.

Garrus stopped peering out over the bridge, allowing himself a moment to rest. He put his back against the cover, feeling exhausted muscles relax, barely able to maintain themselves without sleep. But he couldn't close his eyes. No, he couldn't face the darkness in his mind, the pressure of his failures. He was a failure to everyone: himself, his father, his team…and to her.

She was the first human to honestly gain his respect. Not the fake respect that was called for when facing your leader or superior officer. No, this was real. He would have followed her to hell and back. Her team trusted her. She deserved that trust and respect. He had thought that he could lead too, that his team could– his team…

_No_, thought the Turian, forcing himself back up to his position overlooking the bridge. _You can't afford to go there. Not now._

When had everything gone wrong? He laughed to himself within his visor. What an obvious answer. Shepard had died, and with her, the last glimmer of hope anyone had. Without that hope, only darkness remained. Which was how he had ended up in Omega, darkest of all. He had thought that if he attacked it at its heart, the darkness would lessen.

He was wrong. The endless number of mercs coming for him was proof of that. _Aim, shoot, reload._

Funny how you never realize how important someone is to you until they are gone. _Aim, shoot, reload._ The gun feels heavy in his hands. He has to work now to keep his talon steady on the trigger, to keep the target in his sights. _Aim, shoot, reload._ Even things practically instinctual for him were taking a tremendous amount of effort. Turians may be known for stamina in battle, but everyone has their limit. Perhaps this was his. _Aim-_

And there was the past, staring at him through his scope. He thought he was hallucinating, but when he brought the same merc in to focus, he couldn't deny it. It was no random mercenary hired to kill him. It was Shepard.

Maybe it isn't so dark after all.


End file.
